Nanjing Customs District has recently launched ten measures to support the high-quality development of cross-border e-commerce in Jiangsu Province.

One of these measures aims to assist e-commerce companies in better managing product returns, a growing issue due to increased online sales, market fluctuations and inventory challenges in overseas warehouses.

For example, Suzhou-based Babyonlinedress.cn, mainly focused on selling wedding dresses, recently received a batch of women's clothing returned due to poor sales in Germany. The new measures enabled the company to avoid paying certain tariffs and fees for these returned products.

Tian Haolin, general manager of the company, said frequent updates in wedding dress designs make returns a significant issue in the sector. "If products are unsold or returned to China, we face international freight costs and associated tariffs. Our options are often to sell at a lower price or dispose of them locally. The fear of returns also leads to hesitant stocking, and then we miss business opportunities," explained Tian.

Yang Aiming, an officer from Suzhou Customs House (subordinate to Nanjing Customs District), said that eligible returned goods are now exempt from import tariffs, value-added tax and consumption tax under new regulations, and this can address challenges faced by enterprises in global expansion.

Other measures include strengthening customs protection of intellectual property rights and encouraging enterprises to develop independent brands. In addition, efforts will be made to facilitate new business models and support companies in enhancing their credit ratings.

During the first three quarters of this year, the value of Jiangsu’s cross-border e-commerce imports and exports increased by 45% year-on-year.